Reduce, Resuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! A Persuasive Speech

Leslie Villela

Speech 1315

El Paso Community College

Attention Grabber: Global warming has increased dramatically over the years. So what is it that we can do to help minimize this problem? It can be as simple as starting to recycle. Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, and 4,100 kilowatts-hours of electricity, this is enough to power the average American home for five months. (www.greenwaste.com)

Thesis: Today I will be talking to you about the importance of why we should be recycling and how we can help benefit our community and the environment by recycling.

I. Introduction

a. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products. (www.EPA.gov)

b. The EPA estimates that 75 percent of solid waste is recyclable but only about 30 percent is actually recycled. (www.EPA.gov)

c. Recycling does not only help keep our community and environment clean and healthy but it also helps our countries economy. Keep America Beautiful.org states that the recyclable materials in the U.S waste stream would generate over $7 billion if they were recycled. (www.kab.org) That’s equivalent to Donald Trump’s net worth.

Transition: Recycling can be a tad confusing especially if you’re a beginner and you’re not sure of what you can and cannot recycle. But I suggest we begin with baby steps and start off by recycling the most common items like paper, aluminum, and plastic.

II. Body

I.

a. Paper should be the number one item being recycled. Do you ever think about how much paper we use per day? We use it at home, school, and work and how much of it do we recycle? For some of us the answer is that we don’t recycle any of it.

b. Each year the United States...